The airport money trap
Consider this the next time you’re waiting at an airport departure gate: data suggests passenger expenditure in the terminal doubles as time spent killing time increases from 30 minutes to 80 minutes. It’s called dwell time and the airport mantra says “Dwell time is sell time”, so you can only hope you’ll be taking off soon.
Changing of the guard at Rio Tinto and BHP
It was a year when both big miners appointed new chief executives. Here’s how Rio Tinto’s Sam Walsh and BHP Billiton’s Andrew Mackenzie performed.
Investment banking musical chairs to play out in 2014
The knock on effects of this year’s shake-up in senior investment banking ranks, among the most far-reaching in recent memory, will be felt in 2014 as bonus season unwinds.
Watermark forecasts high demand for women on boards
An executive search expert has forecast as many as 50 per cent of board appointees in 2014 will be women, with females in executive roles increasingly able to pick and choose what boards they take on.
Mining, tapering and the Aussie: a 2014 investment outlook
From equities to property, find out what experts and analysts expect for investors in 2014.
Macfarlane seeks new direction for manufacturing
The federal government has called for submissions to the reviews that will guide industry plans for Victoria and South Australia in preparation for the departure of car manufacturers Holden and Ford.
US web retailer Overstock.com plans to accept Bitcoin
One of the biggest questions looming over Bitcoin, the digital currency generating attention in the tech business, is when big mainstream merchants will begin accepting it.
Too late for an OJ? Have a nip of Tasmanian whisky
Research showing that whisky, brandy and rum have antioxidant properties equal to a daily dose of vitamin C could provide a boost to the country’s thriving distilleries.
Year of the bear pushed dollar on an almighty tumble
It was a year in which the bears came to the currency party, and never left. After spending the best part of two years above parity against the US dollar, the Aussie tumbled in one of the largest recent falls.
Top 5 ASX All Ordinaries stocks of 2013
Food companies dominated the best-performing stocks in the ASX All Ordinaries index in 2013 as nut seller Select Harvests recorded the biggest percentage rise.
How young buyers are getting a foot on the property ladder
Getting a foothold on the property ladder has never been harder for young home buyers, but creative thinking helps.
The workers who wouldn’t leave
Among some leaders, this could definitely be regarded as a First World problem: how do you stop your company from stagnating when nobody ever wants to leave?
Changing course with a new degree
The International College of Management has developed a diploma of golf management, one of the few sport-specific degrees available besides surfing.
Start-up spirit emerges in Japan
The 20-somethings in jeans sipping espresso and tapping on laptops at this Tokyo business incubator would look more at home in Silicon Valley than in Japan.
Chromebook sales go through the roof.
Chromebook sales went through the roof this year, and now account for 21 per cent of all notebook sales, the analyst firm NDP Group reports. Can that be right?
Dubious Distinction Awards 2013
Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s Santa Pierpont back again with the awards for those who outperformed in 2013.
Tinkler sniffs a chance of a comeback
Could Nathan Tinkler be plotting an unlikely comeback? It is believed the former Rich Lister is attempting to restore his fortunes with another coal deal.
Where business leaders escape to over summer
Billionaire James Packer is off to Aspen; Coca-Cola Amatil boss Terry Davis is going home to visit his mum and fish at Arthurs Lake in Tasmania.
Wild Oats fighting hard to regain lead
Wild Oats XI has fought back against Perpetual LOYAL as she faces one of the biggest challenges to her long dominance in the Sydney to Hobart.
Outback towns set for holiday rodeo boon
For small towns on the Christmas rodeo circuit, this time of year is as much about cowboys as carols as visitors flock to the action.
Light reading down the list for holidaying pollies
After a tough year, federal MPs have packed their beach bags with weighty histories, biographies and the odd Little Golden Book for their annual escape.
Toyland takes on a digital bent
A US survey of 1000 parents with children between two and 10 found that more than half planned to buy a tech item for their children this Christmas.
Artisan food sellers bring home the bacon
Gold and chocolate-covered strips of bacon and a monthly delivery of pickles are festive temptations offered by a new generation of US food start-ups.
National
Multinationals getting aggressive over tax ‘erosion’
Multinationals operating in technology and retail industries are using global models that result in eliminating their Australian tax liabilities, the Tax Office has found.
- Macfarlane seeks new direction for manufacturing
- Sinodinos looking at super shake-up
- Trio Capital adviser ban upheld by tribunal
- Spending binge with a bag of complaints
- Outrage over ASIC fine deals
- Where business leaders escape to over summer
- Outback towns set for holiday rodeo boon
- Crane count a sign of Brisbane’s turnaround
- New rules over work rosters
How young buyers are getting a foot on the property ladder
Getting a foothold on the property ladder has never been harder for young home buyers, but creative thinking helps.
Opinion
China, not the euro, is world’s major uncertainty
George Soros | Political problems, especially in the euro zone and the UN Security Council, cloud the reinvigoration of the world’s economy.
Divining the portents in a year of 4
In Chinese numerology the numeral “4” is regarded as the unluckiest number, in contrast to a lucky “8’’.
A nervous start for investors
For investors, 2013 has been a story of two tapers. One was the tapering of quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve; the other the tapering of Australia’s home-grown sugar hit, the mining investment boom.
World
Turkish court rebuffs government
A Turkish court has blocked a government attempt to force police to disclose investigations to their superiors, setting back Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's efforts to contain the fallout from a corruption scandal.
- Target confirms encrypted PINs stolen in recent breach
- Judge rules NSA surveillance of US phone calls lawful
- UK to outstrip Germany by 2030, report says
- US Marine base in Okinawa cleared for move
- Clashes across Egypt leave 3 dead
- Hezbollah critic killed in central Beirut bombing
- Obama signs budget deal, annual defence bill
- Japan inflation hits five-year high
- South Korea aims to bolster demand as growth picks up
Weird science gives whole new meaning to interactive
Spike Jonze’s new movie, Her, may contain the most memorable sex scene of the season.
Business
Spending binge with a bag of complaints
Retailers are reporting bumper post-Christmas sales along with a swarm of complaints about crashed websites, late deliveries and poor service in one downside of the online shopping binge.
- Chinese look at buying Warrnambool Cheese: report
- Myer sorry for Boxing Day website crash
- Where business leaders escape to over summer
- Tinkler sniffs a chance of a comeback
- Outrage over ASIC fine deals
- Becoming a CEO by 23
- Retail Adventures creditors in court win v Cameron
- SPC Ardmona blasts Productivity Commission inquiry
- Centuria secures Nordic investment in unlisted fund
Changing of the guard at Rio Tinto and BHP
It was a year when both big miners appointed new chief executives. Here’s how Rio Tinto’s Sam Walsh and BHP Billiton’s Andrew Mackenzie performed.
Technology
Lenovo sets smartphone ambitions
Outside China, Lenovo is still best know as the Chinese company that bought IBM’s PC business. In China, it is better known as a force to be reckoned with in smartphones and a bellwether for the nation’s economic and technological might.
- US web retailer Overstock.com plans to accept Bitcoin
- Judge rules NSA surveillance of US phone calls lawful
- Target confirms encrypted PINs stolen in recent breach
- Google Penalises Rap Genius for Gaming Search Rank
- China approves pilot to open mobile telecoms market, boost competition
- Inside a Bitcoin mine
- Twitter's Jack Dorsey joins Disney board
- App taps Gen Y donors
- PR exec Sacco loses job, cops abuse over tweet
Start-up spirit emerges in Japan
The 20-somethings in jeans sipping espresso and tapping on laptops at this Tokyo business incubator would look more at home in Silicon Valley than in Japan.
Markets
Australian shares follow Nikkei into red
Australian shares closed flat – down less than 0.1 per cent, to 5324.1 – as the market shadowed a fall in Japan’s Nikkei in afternoon trading amid thin volumes.
- Wall St closes little changed, ends up week
- European shares extend year-end rally; DAX hits record
- Euro hits more than 2-year high; yen at 5-year lows
- UK to outstrip Germany by 2030, report says
- Spending binge with a bag of complaints
- Gold poised for biggest annual loss in 3 decades
- Brent rises above $US112 on African oil supply cuts
- Japan inflation hits five-year high
- Wealthy winners and losers of 2013
Year of the bear pushed dollar on an almighty tumble
It was a year in which the bears came to the currency party, and never left. After spending the best part of two years above parity against the US dollar, the Aussie tumbled in one of the largest recent falls.
Personal finance
What investors should expect in 2014
Global growth may be back on the agenda but Australia faces challenges that will require careful navigation, particularly now that the US central bank has decided to start winding down its bond-buying program next month.
- What’s different about how Buffett approaches derivatives
- Don’t bet on low rates lasting long
- How you can invest in foreign companies
- Marriage makes all the financial difference when separating
- US recovery bodes well for global REITs
- Miss Limousines founder is driven to make a difference
- Strange forces behind sharemarket fall
- Magellan vs Platinum: star funds at odds over global outlook
Mining, tapering and the Aussie: a 2014 investment outlook
From equities to property, find out what experts and analysts expect for investors in 2014.
Lifestyle
Summer food series 5 | Shane Delia
In this final instalment of our stunning series, Shane Delia of Maha restaurant in Melbourne creates a Middle Eastern feast
Animal spirits hold sway in a sparkling menagerie
From elephants and pandas to frogs and bees, luxury houses are reviving an ancient tradition in precious baubles.
Beachside glamour in Rio
Some say that a hotel in Rio is just a place for cleaning off the sand, but for those who prefer to do so with monogrammed towels, Trousseau toiletries and a marble soaking tub, the Palace fits the bill.
Cars: the very best of 2013
A few impressive machines for reasons of space and timing didn’t secure a full road test. This is the best of them.
Latest TV
2014 share market preview
Equity Trustees chief investment officer George Boubouras expects US dollar sensitive stocks to drive Australia’s earnings recovery in 2014.
Crazy penguins and entrepreneurs
Taking outlandish risks may not be smart investment strategy, but it's how some entrepreneurs thrive. Commentator Christopher Joye has been talking with gambling wunderkind David Walsh about the importance of the extreme.
Fed scales back bond-buying program
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke defends decision to cut aggressive bond-buying program as economy continues making progress.
Euro zone moves towards banking union
Euro zone finance ministers make progress on some details of a plan to close banks, paving the way for completion of a euro zone 'banking union' that aims to restore confidence in the financial sector and boost growth.
